ith the expeditions sent out in
search of Sir John Franklin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note 2. It must be borne in mind that all the establishments we passed
on the way belonged to the Hudson Bay Company.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

WINTER-TRAVELLING IN CANADA--DEPARTURE FROM LACHINE--SCENERY ALONG THE
ROAD--"INCIDENTS" BY THE WAY--ARRIVAL AT TADOUSAC--MR. STONE'S ADVENTURE
WITH INDIANS--CLUBBING SEALS.

It was on a bright winter's day in the month of January 1846 that I was
sent for by the Governor, and told to hold myself in readiness to start
early the following morning with Mr Stone for Tadousac--adding, that
probably I should spend the approaching summer at Seven Islands.

Tadousac, be it known, is a station about three hundred miles below
Montreal, at the mouth of the river Saguenay, and Seven Islands is two
hundred miles below Tadousac; so that the journey is not a short one.
The greater part of the road runs through an uninhabited country, and
the travelling is bad.

In preparation for this journey, then, I employed myself during the
remainder of the day; and before night all was ready.

Next morning I found that our journey was postponed to the following
day, so I went into Montreal to make a few purchases, and passed the
rest of the day in a state of intense thought, endeavouring to find out
if anything had been forgotten. Nothing, however, recurred to my
memory; and going to bed only half undressed, in order to be ready at a
moment's notice, I soon fell into a short disturbed slumber, from which
the servant awakened me long before daylight, by announcing that the
sleigh was at the door. In ten minutes I was downstairs, where Mr
Stone shortly afterwards joined me; and after seeing our traps safely
deposited in the bottom of the sleigh, we jumped in, and slid
noiselessly over the quiet street of Lachine.

The stars shone brightly as we glided over the crunching snow, and the
sleigh-bells tinkled merrily as our horse sped over the deserted road.
Groups of white cottages and solitary gigantic trees flew past us,
looking, in the uncertain light, like large snow-drifts; save where the
twinkling of a candle, or the first blue flames of the morning fire,
indicated that the industrious _habitant_ had risen to his daily toil.
In silence we glided on our way, till the distant lights of Montreal
awakened us from our reveries, and we met at intervals a solitary
pede